The Nation Newspaper

Tag: mining

  • Mining: Register of beneficiaries due in 2019

    Nigeria yesterday commenced the engagement of stakeholders  in the extractive industries on the implementation of beneficial ownership roadmap. The process is expected to result in the generation of a register of beneficial owners of extractive industries in the country by December 2019.

    The Executive  Secretary, Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Dr. Waziri Adio, who stated this yesterday, said that Nigeria would be unveiling its own register on 31st December, 2019.

    His words: “We are going to have the register of all the companies operating in Nigeria by December 2019. A lot of discussions have been going on.”

    He spoke in Abuja during the stakeholders’ engagement on implementation of beneficial ownership roadmap in extractive industries in Nigeria.

    He said in 2017, all EITI countries worldwide, published their roadmap on how to have a publicly accessible register by 2020.

    Adio noted that hidden ownership could be used to fuel terrorism financing, money laundering, and drug financing. The act, he said, is only to the benefit of the minority elite in the country.

    He however noted that the challenges that hamper the adoption of beneficial ownership in Nigeria range from lack of a legislation on the disclosure of beneficial owners.

    The Executive Secretary also noted that there is no awareness about beneficial ownership and the essence for disclosure.

    He also raised issues about lack of capacity and readiness to comply with the disclosure of beneficial owners.

    Speaking, the Director, Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Mr. Garba Abubakar explained that the fact that Nigeria has no register of beneficial owners does not mean that the laws do not allude to it. He said that there are sections of the Company and Allied Matter Act (CAMA) that compel businessmen to disclose their shareholders and also disclose the capacity of ownership of the shareholders.

    Abubakar said that the commission is now proposing will make it mandatory for  Nigerians to disclosure their benefits owners.

    He stressed that already, “we have designed the disclosure form register.

    The register which he said may have some challenges of coincidence of name, will also have the date of birth differentiating the owners of the companies throughout country.

    The engagement with the extractive industry companies is aimed at securing the buy-in of the companies towards implementation of beneficial ownership and to ensure everyone was carried along on the development of the beneficial ownership register.

    According to NEITI, companies have expressed commitment to and support for beneficial ownership disclosure, however, they highlighted some challenges as weak legal support as there is no law forcing companies to disclose their true and beneficial owners.

  • Mining: Fed Govt spends N360m on drilling machines

    The Federal Government has purchased two core drilling machines at a cost of N360m. The machines where purchased to collect geological data. They can as well drill depths of up to 1.2km.

    Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Hon. Abubakar Bwari said that  is left is for the country’s geologists to use the machines to collect bankable data that will attract investors.

    Bwari added that tge Federal Executive Council approved the purchase because the present administration is giving the mining sector the much needed attention.

    Speaking yesterday in Abuja at the commissioning of the two drilling machines at the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), Bwari stated that the agency had looked forward to the purchase for decades.

    His words: “We just commissioned the rig that was approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), and its main function is to do core drilling to collect geological data and this is the first time we are having a rig of this nature, it is a rig that can go down 1.2km and can perform a lot of functions apart from generating geological data. It can also be used to drill boreholes and as well  for geo-thermal energy, it is a multi purpose rig that the country has been looking forward to purchasing for decades.

    “The challenge is now left for our geologists to use it to generate the required geoscience data because this sector cannot thrive without data and investors will only come to countries with bankable data and the rigs can enable us get that data.

    “FEC approved about N360m for the two machines. The attention for this sector was not there for a very long time but now that the political will is there, the government is giving this sector the attention now.

    “Secondly we commissioned where we want to put our sensimometers that we will use to monitor earthquake and tremor. After the Kwoi earthquake in Kaduna we knew that we had to be proactive so we budgeted for sensimometers and bought them and as we where aboit to install them, the Abuja occurrence took place, so today we will be installing one in Abuja out of the six we intend to install around the country and it will be done based in geological requirements.”

    Director General, NGSA Alex Nwegbu explained that the agency had been filled with expectation for the machinery for over 30 years.

    He added that the drilling machine is unique because it goes far beyond other machines that go as far as 200-300 meters down.

  • Minister: foreign investors want banks to invest in mining

    Minister of State, Ministry of Mines and Steel Development Mr. Abubakar Bwari has  joined foreign investors to appeal to  banks to invest in mining.

    He made this known while declaring open the first Nigeria Metallurgical Industry Stakeholders’ Forum (MISF) held in Abuja.

    The theme of the forum was: “Nigeria’s economic and industrial development through value addition in the metal sector”.

    Bwari said the foreign investors made the appeal in Australia at a mining forum where they complained about Nigerianw banks’ non-commitment to the sector.

    He added that of the African countries at the forum, Nigeria was most focused on investment interests.

    “At the Nigeria’s roundtable forum, most of the investors from Australia had one complaint that had to do with our investors and not the foreign investors.

    “They said the Nigerian banks were not ready to fund mining and know little or nothing about mining.

    “So, the ball is in our court, as stakeholders, to bring mining before the banks so that the Nigerian banks can be educated on what it is about,” he said.

    The Minister said effort would also highlight some of the challenges that had to do with mining and the way out.

    He said in as much as the government was paying attention to mining as a means of diversifying the economy, there was need for Nigerian banks to play their own role.

    Bwari said modern mining would soon commence in Nigeria, with Bauchi State being the first beneficiary because of its large deposit of zinc.

    He said the metal industry had a great impact on other sectors of the economy, adding that the prospects of a vibrant metal industry in Nigeria include foreign exchange earnings and sustenance.

    The Minister also said it would contribute to increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and create job opportunities as well as acquisition of technical skills leading to technology transfer to Nigerians.

    According to him, the stakeholders’ forum would be organised periodically to proffer solutions to the challenges of the metal sector and educate the metallurgical operators on the government’s policy direction.

    Giving the history of the metallurgical and allied plants in the country, Bwari said many were established by investors from far and near, but expressed concern that some had either closed down or were about to do so.

    He identified lack of effective government policies to guide and regulate the activities of operators in the sector and lack of commitment by persons assigned to run public enterprises as some of the challenges.

    Others, he said, were corruption and economic sabotage by Nigerians, unfavourable and sometimes inconsistent fiscal policies and inadequate and expensive power supply with the attendant danger of power generating sets.

    Earlier, the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dr. Abdulkadir Mua’azu, said the administration was poised to creating an enabling environment for metallurgical operators to thrive.

    This, he said, was necessary to generate employment, create wealth and reduce poverty.

    Mua’azu also said to achieve its goals, the ministry had articulated some strategies and activities for the development of the metallurgical sector to take it to the next level.

    “They include: ensuring presidential assent to the Nigerian Metallurgical Industrial Bill, which has passed the second reading at the floor of the Senate and collaboration with all relevant government agencies,” he said.

    He also said the ministry was liaising with the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to curb dumping of substandard steel and other metal products in Nigeria and export of banned scrap metals.

    House Committee on Steel and Metallurgy Chairman, Lawal Idrisu, said as a nation, there was the need to encourage players in the industry by way of incentives through creation of special funding.

    “Availability of funds cannot be overemphasised and this is because accessing these funds for investments is very important.

    “For example, the lowest cost of interest rate of less than five per cent will invariably boost investment in this sector.

    “I therefore implore our policy makers to look into this as we in the parliament will be able to support this kind of gesture with legislation,” he said.

    The House Committee chair said Nigeria should focus on the multiplier effects of the policy on the economy.

    He listed the multiplier effects to include creation of wealth and increase in the revenue that would accrue to government through taxes and other remunerations.

    The two-day forum was attended by government officials and captains of the steel and metallurgical industry.

  • FCT minister suspends mining, quarrying activities in affected areas

    All quarrying/mining activities and borehole drilling have been suspended forthwith in parts of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT Minister Muhammad Bello, announced yesterday.

    It was in reaction to the earth tremors in the territory.

    Affected by the quarrying/mining and borehole drilling suspension are Mpape, Gwarimpa and Garki districts.

    The suspension will subsist pending the outcome of investigations on the causes of the tremors.

    Bello yesterday paid an on-the-spot visit to Mpape, the epicentre of reported incidents of earth tremors in parts of Abuja recently.

    Speaking for the minister, the FCT Permanent Secretary, Sir Chinyeaka Ohaa, assured residents that there was no cause for alarm.

    He said Abuja does not lie in any major seismic danger zone.

    The minister’s Chief Press Secretary, Cosmas Uzodinma, said preliminary reports on the tremors indicated that rock blasting from quarrying, mining activities and proliferation of borehole drilling might have caused the situation.

    Consequently, he stressed, it became necessary to suspend all quarrying activities in various sites of Abuja, especially Mpape, Garki, Gwarimpa and contiguous areas.

     

  • Mining: Firm challenges govt on port facilities

    The Chief Executive Officer, Symbol Mining, Tim Wither, has said port facilities are affecting the mining sector’s development. He advised the government to improve them.

    He said the speed with which products could pass through the port had great impact on the economic viability and companies’ ability to develop projects.

    He said with the Free Trade Zones (FTZ) and other infrastructure upgrades within the Lagos ports, there was optimism that these improvements would have a great impact in developing the resource industry.

    Wither spoke with The Nation on the forthcoming Nigeria Mining Week scheduled to take place in October in Abuja. He said because the industry as in its infancy, a lot of the technical skills are sourced from outside the country, particularly mining engineers and exploration geologists.

    He, however, expressed the commitment of the company to grow these capabilities in-house by training and educating people from the local communities. This, he noted, would support the aggressive exploration and growth strategies and help expand the industry.

    Symbol mining, he said, is an Australian publicly listed company, which started mining recently at the high-grade zinc and lead Imperial Joint Venture project in Bauchi State. The company, according to him, has been working in Nigeria since 2012, and brings international technical, marketing and financial expertise for the commercialisation of the mining and exploration projects.

    The company, he said, has two local joint venture projects, Tawny in Nasarawa State and Imperial in Bauchi State, with total tenements spanning over 500km. According to him, in the last six years, the company has completed over 12,000m of exploration drilling and released a maiden Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) compliant Resource of 132,700t at 18.3per cent Zn (zinc) and 2.1per cent Pb (lead) for the Macy Deposit located at the Imperial project.

    ‘’Our maiden resource demonstrated a mineralisation zone of high-grade zinc and lead. The subsequent completion of the Macy Deposit scoping study confirmed the economic viability for high-grade direct shipment ore (DSO) to both Chinese and European smelters. The firm’s marketing plan is to develop a high-quality product brand, selling directly to smelters through established offtake partnerships,’’ he assured.

    The company’s strategy is to generate early cashflow from open pit mining at the Macy Deposit, which will facilitate further exploration activities at Imperial and Tawny, and potentially expand our resource base to grow the Company. Central to our future success, is the support of the local community and development of a skilled workforce. Our core values include respect and acceptance from the local communities in which we operate, and this is only achieved by open and honest conversations.

    ‘’We communicate information on the project and listen to any challenges faced by the community. We are also focused on building a skilled local workforce and creating a framework for them to develop and learn a range of skills in a controlled and supportive environment, we would like to be the employer of choice for the mining industry in Nigeria,’’ he added.

    In the next five years, we will spend a considerable amount of efforts in training and up-skilling our team, so they can then manage and grow our future projects, this will in turn benefit the mining community.

    ‘’We want local communities to benefit from the growth of the mining industry. One of the strongest principles within the Nigerian Mining Code is the mandatory Community Development Agreement (CDA), something which other more established mining jurisdictions,‘’ he said

  • Illegal mining: NSCDC arrest six suspects in C/River

    Cross River Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) says it  has arrested six suspected illegal miners  in Biase Local Government Area of  the state.

    NSCDC Commandant in Anambra, Mr Stephen Lar, told our reporter on Wednesday in Calabar that the suspects were arrested at a mining site on Monday.

    Lar said that the command had declared zero tolerance for illegal mining due to increasing activities of unlicensed miners in the state.

    According to him, NSCDC was saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the nation’s economy is not sabotaged.

    “Mining is the statutory responsibility of the Federal Government, anybody who engages in mining must obtain a licence from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development.

    “We were informed of these illegal activities through a tip off in Biase Local Government Area of the state.

    “Illegal mining has become a lucrative activity in that area and my men swung into action and arrested these people in the act.

    “We are going to carry out an intensive investigation to find out from the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel if they have license to operate or not.

    “After that, we can prosecute them in the court of law to serve as a deterrent to others’’, he said.

    The commandant told our reporter that the command had reduced cases of vandalism and oil bunkering to the barest minimum in the state, saying that the command was now handling illegal mining.

    Read Also: Mining ministry accesses N15b intervention fund

    “The eagle eye of NSCDC is everywhere, residents in Cross River should shun all acts of illegality because the law will not respect anybody found wanting.

    He said that since he took over the command two months ago, he has arraigned 24 suspects  for various crimes, particularly in the oil sector.

    “We have achieved a lot during this short period that I resumed work here; I must commend all  the officers and men of this command for their  efforts in fighting all forms of illegality.

    One of the suspects told our reporter  that he was a staff of one of the mining companies in Biase.

    “My company did not ask me to go in search of the precious stones and I don’t have any licence to operate.

    “I only got information that there is a new target area that has large precious stones, that was why I had to take some guys along with me to the place.

    “The area where I got the precious stones does not fall within my company’s area, I only went there to get them  and sell in order to buy food to eat’’, he explained.

  • FEC okays N230.28b for roads, mining

    THE Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday approved N230.28 billion for roads projects and mining data.

    Minister of Information Lai Mohammed and Minister of State for Mines and Steel Bawa Bwari briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    He said: “Also approved today is a contract for the link road and associated infrastructure for the Second Niger Bridge. The link road is about 11.9 kilometres. The contract was awarded to Julius Berger at N206 billion. The bridge is linking Anambra and Delta states.

    “If you remember, the contract was awarded by the last administration under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement, which failed.”

    According to him, N11.58 billion was approved for re-award of rehabilitation of Oji-Achi-Maku-Agu-Ndiabi section in Enugu State.

    “What happened was that the contract was awarded earlier to the company that failed and Setraco has now been re-awarded that section of the road, the minister said.

    According to him, $92 million was approved for gas pipeline project.

    He said: “Also approved is the total cost of Engineering, Procurement and Construction of the OB3 Gas Pipeline Project.  This is a project that has been awarded, but there is a need for redesigning.

    “The project is important because of delivery of gas from the Eastern part of the country to power turbines and to improve our power supply.”

    According to him, Minister of Finance Kemi Adeosun also presented three memos, which were approved by the council.

    The three memos, he said, included ratification of the multilateral competent authority agreement on automatic exchange of financial accounting information, ratification of the Africa 50th Articles of Association and the approval for the financial transparency policy guidelines.

    Bwari said the FEC okayed N12.7 billion for exploration and consultancy projects in the mining sector.

    The projects, he said, would help in getting accurate mining data, which will attract local and foreign investments.

    He said: “Our major challenge in diversification programme of the government in the mining sector has been that of data. Today, the Federal Executive Council approved the contract for exploration and consultancy on some of our targeted minerals like gold, industrial minerals, earth metals, iron ore for four companies in exploration and four companies in consultancy side of it and this contract is worth N12.7 billion.

    “And with this, we will encourage both local and foreign investors  to come in. Our major challenge is the bankable data. Most mining companies will not want to come into your country when they are not sure of what they are going to meet. “

  • Crypto-currency mining malware wreaks havoc in Africa

    Crypto-currency mining malware is wreaking havoc in Africa, an Israeli-based cyber security firm, Check Point, has said.

    Its Global Threat Index released recently showed that on Apri l, Coinhive, Cryptoloot and XMRig were the top six malware incidents in Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya.

    Crypto-currencies are becoming more popular in Africa as local conditions on the continent are conducive to adoption of the digital currencies. Several African countries suffer from rampant inflation. The number of unbanked people on the continent also makes cryptos a viable option in Africa.

    According to crypto-currency marketplace Paxful, in Africa there are more transactions involving the transfer of goods, services and money facilitated through the platform in Africa, compared to the ‘developed world’ where many trade digital currencies speculatively for profit.

    Thus, Check Point notes that cyber criminals are taking advantage of the popularity of digital currencies on the continent by deploying crypto-currency malware.

    Check Point said last month, Coinhive ranked as the number one malware family in all three countries.

    Country Manager for SADC at Check Point, Doros Hadjizenonos, said:  “All three are prolific crypto-mining malware, which, unlike other malware, hijack your system instead of holding it to ransom.

    “While Coinhive leeches your machine’s computational resources to mine Monero crypto-currency when an unsuspecting user visits a Web page, Cryptoloot uses your central processing unit (CPU) or graphics processing unit power to add new transactions to the blockchain, thereby releasing new currency.”

    Hadjizenonos added that XMRig is open source CPU-mining software used to mine Monero crypto-currency.

    “At the end of the day, this might affect your business in one of two ways. Either the hacker’s mining operation will consume large volumes of power and leave a horrible surprise in your electricity bill, or the operation will overload the CPU of the infected machines, slowing down your hardware performance dramatically. This is because the malware will defer your machine’s critical tasks to keep the mining operation in progress,” he explained.

    Hadjizenonos said because crypto miners are created to generate as much profit as possible, most will disrupt the day-to-day operations of a business.

    “The worst part about crypto-mining malware, and what makes it so sneaky, is that it doesn’t need your consent nor rely on you to perform an action in order to make a profit. Take ransomware for example: ransomware relies on the victim to pay a ransom for the attack to be profitable. Similarly, banking Trojans, which steal bank account credentials, need you to first access your account so they can harvest your user name and password,” he said.

    He, however, said crypto miners don’t need the victim at all. “In fact, all they need is your browser to be up and running, and they’re in business, literally,” he said.

    Cyber security firm Trend Micro points out that the popularity and increasing real-world significance of crypto-currencies are also drawing cyber criminal attention; so much so that it appears to keep pace with ransomware’s infamy in the threat landscape.

  • ‘Women participation in mining abysmal’

    Experts in the solid minerals sector have decried the low level of women participation in mining. They say women own only two percent of the total number of mining licences available in the country.

    They said a lot of factors have so far militated against female miners in the country ranging from laws and culture.

    Speaking at the maiden meeting of Women in Mining Nigeria (WIMIN) in Abuja, Country Director, Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu said although people tell women that they can get into mining, laws and frameworks are decidedly skewed against them.

    She lamented that when the impacts of mining come, they come first to the women that are primary caregivers and their kids, adding that when the benefits come, they come first to the men.

    She said: ““Presently only just tow per cent of licensed miners are women. The reason for these are access to capital, access to land and also when you think of the fact that it is a male dominated sector and women are traditionally pushed out and discriminated against in the sector. If you read the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Resources Act 2007, you will find that it reflects  masculinity traditionally associated with mining; no gender neutrality.

    Also speaking, the President, Women in Mining Nigeria, Hon. Janet Adeyemi, lamented that women have been agitating for inclusion for a long time and are gradually being recognised.

    She said:  “We agitated for so long for women to be accommodated in the sector. Before now, nobody talked about women in mining but if you look at the policies now and recent activities of government, it is now trying to mainstream gender into the sector and women are being accommodated so there’s the need to sensitise and bring stakeholders together so we can forge a common font for that.”

     

     

     

  • Edo community challenges land acquisition for mining

    The High Court of Edo State has been urged to, among others, set aside the purported sale of land belonging to members of the Imiefo Kindred of Kalabar Community, Ukhomunyio, Afokpella-Okpella, Okpella Clan, Etsako East Local Government to Dangote Cement Plc by some alleged impostors.

    The request formed part of the reliefs being sought by aggrieved members of the Imiefo Kindred of Kalabar Community, Ukhomunyio, Okpella in a suit they filed before the Auchi Division of the High Court of Edo State.

    They queried the validity of the sale and the authority of those Dangote Cement dealt with in relation to the lands described as “Ogbagu and Afeyemi lands.”

    The suit, marked: HAU/47/2018, was filed on April 24, this year, by the Incorporated Trustees of Imiefo Kindred Union (on behalf of themselves and the Imiefo Kindred of Kalabar Community of Ukhomunyio, Afokpella_Okpella, Okpella Clan, Etsako East Local Government), through the firm of Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN) and Partners.

    Named as defendants in the suit are: Dangote Cement Plc, Xath Resources Limited, its Managing Director, James Abache; Alhaji Moshood O. Aliu (sued for himself and on behalf of the Ukhomunyio Council of Chiefs, Okpella, Edo State) and the Incorporated Trustees of Ukhomunyio Community Development Union.

    Beside the writ of summons issued against the defendants, the claimants also filed two additional processes: a motion ex-parte for interim injunctions, including an order restraining Dangote and other defendants from taking any further steps on the lands, pending the determination of the substantive suit; and a motion on notice for interlocutory injunctions.

    The claimant stated, in their statement of claim, that by traditional history and native law and custom of Okpella Clan, the Imiefo Kindred “is the rightful owner of all the lands situate at and referred to as Ogbagu and Afeyemi lands.”

    They cited a number of incidents that further confirmed their ownership of the lands in question, the most recent, they said, being in 2017 when “the Afokpella Village Heads prevailed on Imiefo Kindred to appease the gods over the encroachment into the Olitsa-Ogbagu deity’s territory, which include the lands in question.

    They also recalled when in the 1990s the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella prevailed on the Imiefo Kindred, as the rightful owners of the lands, to appease the gods, through the Ogbagu Shrine (Olitsa-Ogbagu), which it did before normalcy could be restored when West African Fertiliser Company of Nigeria (WAFERT) recorded some unusual natural disasters while operating on the lands.

    The claimants stated, despite their established ownership of the lands, that the 2nd, 3rd and 4th defendants (Xath Resources, James Abache; Alhaji Aliu), in alleged collusion with Ukhomunyio Council of Chiefs, Okpella, without their (claimants’) consent, “wrongfully and unlawfully allocated the entire Ogbagu and Afeyemi lands, belonging to the claimants, to the 1st defendant (Dangote Cement) for mining activities.”

    One of the claimants, Ezekiel Eshiogiemhe said in a witness statement that they got the information, in August 2016 about the 2nd to 5th defendants’ alleged plot to unlawfully grant consent to the owners of the 1st defendant to commence mining activities on the lands.

    Eshiogiemhe said the claimants wrote the parties involved in the alleged illegal act and warned them to desist. He referred to a particular letter of February 2017, written to 1st defendant by the claimants’ lawyers to warn the 1st defendant to desist from dealing with the 2nd to 5th defendants on the grounds that they were not the lawful owners of the lands in question.

    He said despite the claimants’ letters and a pending suit they filed challenging the traditional head of Okpella, the Okuokpellagbe of Okpella, Alhaji A. Y. F. Idrisu, over the consent he purportedly granted to another mining firm on the same lands, the defendants proceeded with their transaction, allegedly leading to the 1st defendants paying the other defendants N459million.

    The claimants said they were not opposed to the 1st defendant acquiring their lands, but that the right thing must first be done, which include obtaining the claimants’ consent (being the rightful owners of the land) and paying necessary compensations to the owners, who use the lands for farming and other purposes from which they earn their living.

    They said their prayer for a restraining order was of urgent importance because, unless restrained by the court, the 1st defendant, who has allegedly moved its machines and other equipment to the disputed lands, has concluded plans to commence operations forthwith.

    The claimants prayed court for a declaration that the 2nd to 5th defendants, not being members of the claimants’ family, have no power or right to allocate or grant mining consent to the 1st defendant or any other person/agency to carry out mining activities on the lands in question.

    They also want the court to declare that, being the owners of the Ogbagu and Afeyemi lands in Okpella under the Okpella native law and custom, the claimants are the only persons entitled to negotiate with the 1st defendant in respect of the proposed mining operations and other activities it seeks to conduct on the lands.

    The claimants are seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining the 1st defendant or its agents from carrying out any mining or other activities on the Ogbagu and Afeyemi lands “until it has negotiated with and sought the consent of the claimants for the use of the said lands”.

    They equally want the court to perpetually restrain the defendants or their agents from erecting any structure, trespassing or carrying out any activity on the lands.